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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160529">Something Else Altogether</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressArafax/pseuds/MistressArafax'>MistressArafax</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Final Battle, Introspection, Kiss on the back of a titan, M/M, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:15:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressArafax/pseuds/MistressArafax</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As the final battle rages on, Jean realizes his feelings for Reiner might run deeper than he ever thought possible.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reiner Braun/Jean Kirstein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Something Else Altogether</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Warning: Spoilers for the manga (up through chapter 135) so don't read this if you don't want them.</p><p>I honestly never thought I'd have an AoT ship I'd write about, but then chapter 135 happened, and I needed some ReiJean in my life. So here we are.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There wasn't time to think.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Simply acting could mean the difference between life or death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all it meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Reiner!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean had dove in to rescue Reiner and get him out of the Armored Titan before the Colossal Titan, the version of it that had belonged to Berthold anyway, could tear him in half with a single bite. The move had left them both vulnerable, their gear busted as they hung on the morbid bones of their ancestor's titan form. More Titans surrounded them, and they could be eaten at any time as Jean desperately held onto Reiner's hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jean," Reiner called. "Let me go. I can transform at least one more time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then what? Get yourself trampled in the rumbling? For being called the 'Armored Titan', your armor kind of sucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you still think we have a chance?” Reiner asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought for less than a second, calculating the odds and knowing how heavily they were stacked against them. “No. But we’ll keep fighting to the bitter end. We’re all crazy. That’s why we joined the Survey Corps, and we've suffered for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was lame as far as motivational speeches went. But Reiner had gazed up at him with an indistinguishable look. A look of anguish and hope and desperation, and with those same emotions in his voice, he’d uttered, “Jean...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The feeling that surged through him at that soft call of his name didn't make sense. He justified it by telling himself that their survival hinged on Reiner, on the Armored Titan, being able to fight. But it was more than that, and Jean knew it. It made it so he wouldn't let go of Reiner. He couldn't let go. He needed to keep Reiner close and protect him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This Reiner wasn't the Reiner he remembered from before. He was beaten down. Tired. No longer the strong youth he'd been during their days training together or in the Survey Corps. Before they'd found out his and Berthold's true identities and then finally learned about the truth beyond their walls. Before Jean had any inkling of the kind of world Reiner had grown up in and could understand his reasons for what he'd done. Before Jean had known anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But what he knew now versus then didn't matter. Saving Reiner mattered. Helping him find the will to fight and stop Eren and the Founding Titan mattered. Saving all of humanity mattered, and Jean told himself that was why. That was the only reason he cared so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even as they were rescued, he couldn't let go of Reiner. He was afraid of losing him. Afraid that if he let go of Reiner, he'd be gone forever. They'd already lost so much, and they could lose so much more if they didn't stop this. If they didn't put everything on the line right now, the world would end. Humanity would cease to exist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he wrapped his arm around Reiner's waist. Someone he'd admired. Someone he'd once aspired to be like, but Reiner was now a shell of what he once was, plagued with guilt and trauma and grief. Jean felt it too. Every titan he'd killed had once been a human. When they thought of them as monsters, it had been easier. But clearing the island of titans, knowing they'd all once been humans, had left deep scars on his heart. He'd wanted to be done. To retire. Even hours earlier, he'd selfishly considered staying behind on Paradis Island. He yearned to have a spouse. Get married. Have children. Live a nice quiet life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wouldn't get that now. He was probably going to die. They were all probably going to die on this fool's quest to save the world. But if they were dying, he'd embrace Reiner. He had nothing to lose. No reason to keep his dignity or image intact even with the others there watching. He'd die a hero regardless. They all would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he slid his arms around Reiner, pulling him into a tight hug. Reiner tensed up, questioning, "What are you doing?" It was soft, concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If this is the end, I want just one more moment. I want to feel contact with another person one last time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reiner relaxed, returning the embrace almost immediately. "Okay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed like that for several moments, Jean savoring the contact. He wouldn't get what he wanted, what he'd dreamed of, but at least he could have this. It was when Annie called for them that they finally broke apart. Jean was reluctant to leave Reiner's arms, and it seemed like maybe Reiner felt the same way too, but they did so so they could join in on forming a plan. Without Armin, it wasn't easy. There were so many unknown variables and all of them felt hopeless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand clutched his tightly, and he didn't need to glance to his left to know it was Reiner. "The Survey Corps fight until the bitter end," Reiner said, repeating the words Jean had told him minutes earlier, "because we're all crazy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jean nodded, steeling his nerve. "We stick to the plan."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What wasn't a part of the plan was the kiss Reiner pressed to his lips before jumping from the back of the titan they flew on and shifting. But the feeling lingered on his lips, and he jumped after Reiner, resolved to do anything to protect the Armored Titan. The man who'd once been his friend and then his enemy and now was quickly becoming something else altogether.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hopefully you enjoyed! ^^ Let me know what you think!</p><p>Also, if one or both of them don't end up dead in the next couple of chapters, there may be a continuation of this. We'll see though.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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